The Altoona Curve are entering the postseason for the first time since 2018 against the Erie Sea Wolves. A core part of that team has been the sensational Konnor Griffin, who has enjoyed an incredible 2025 campaign.
In six short months, Griffin went from being a top 100 prospect to the absolute best prospect in all of baseball. Drafted ninth overall in 2024, Griffin arguably had the best five-tool potential in the class. Flash forward a year later and every single one of those skills is on full display
night in and night out.
Griffin started his season with the Bradenton Marauders in the Florida State League, and it wasn’t long before management realized he was a big fish in a little pond. He would go onto appear in 50 games with the club, racking up 70 hits, with 9 homers, 36 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. This was the beginning of what would go onto be a dominant stretch all season long, not to mention a preview of what Pirates’ fans are hoping to see very soon.
Of course though, his season didn’t end there. On June 10, he was promoted from Bradenton to Greensboro to try his hand at High-A ball. This again was seemingly just another step for the number one overall prospect, as he once again dominated the competition at this level. On June 16, it was announced that Griffin was the South Atlantic League Player of the Week with a stat line of 11 hits, 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs, 6 steals and a .407 batting average. On June 30, it was announced that Griffin and Esmerlyn Valdez would be representing the Pirates at the 2025 All-Star Futures Game.
Probably the highlight of the season came on July 24, when it was announced that Konnor Griffin was named the number one prospect in all of baseball. At that time, he had a slash line of .319/.422/.487 and was helping lead Greensboro to some big wins.
On August 18, Griffin was then promoted to Double-A Altoona. He was leading the Eastern League in RBIs since the time of his debut as recently as six days ago, as once again he has not seemed to struggle with the competition level that comes with the promotion. His final week of the regular season was impressive, as he had three multi-hit games over a five game span in the Curve’s last series. He finished the regular season with a slash line of .337/.418/.542 from his time in Altoona, with an OPS of .960 as well. From Bradenton, Greensboro, and Altoona he totaled 117 runs, 161 hits, 21 home runs, 94 RBIs, and 65 stolen bases, nearly 30 more than Oneil Cruz who leads Pittsburgh in steals.
This has been a meteoric season for the 19-year old Jackson Mississippi product. He has drawn comparisons to accomplished big leaguers like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ronald Acuna Jr. and has shown little to no signs of struggle since he started his professional career. He has a big league ETA of 2027, but it might not be out of the question to see Griffin be promoted to Pittsburgh in 2026. The team is desperate need of offense and some consistency at shortstop, both things that Griffin can help with. Obviously the big leagues is a whole different test compared to double-a but it really feels like he could be up for that challenge already.
At just 19-years old, Griffin is already on track to be an impact player at the next level and it is going to be very exciting when he finally does put on that Pirates’ uniform. For now though he has a real shot at taking this talented Altoona team to the Eastern League title.
